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Ethel Waters, 1896-1977
African American artist Beauford Delaney first gained a reputation in New York City in the 1930s with distinctive pastel portraits like this image of blues singer and actress Ethel Waters. New York, Delaney claimed, "had a rhythm as distinct as the beating of a human heart. . . . I paint people, . . .and in their faces I hope to discover that odd, mysterious rhythm." The artist's passion for jazz and blues took him frequently to the nightclubs of Harlem and Greenwich Village, where he began making portraits of the musicians he met, including Waters, W. C. Handy, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong. Waters, who already had a busy recording, touring, and Broadway career, was a particular favorite. After hearing one performance, Delaney wrote that she made him "proud to be a Negro." He and his protégé, James Baldwin, would often listen to, and sing along with, her music.
Beauford Delaney, 1940 |